Mace donates 75,000 to Tate to boost access to art

The Mace Foundation recently announced it would donate £75,000 to Tate’s Access and Community Programmes. The donations will be used, among others, to lower the barrier to enjoy art for hard to reach community segments, as well as providing support to the access of art for those with disabilities within the four Tate locations.

Launched in 2012 by consulting firm Mace, the Mace Foundation – a charitable company – has worked to provide disadvantaged people and communities with support. To achieve this, Mace has actively donated to charities and not-for-profit organisations, and provided support through a variety of mechanisms, including strategic partnerships, supporting individual charities and not-for-profit organisations and one-off grants. The Foundation is currently providing support within four specific campaigns: education and employment; communities; health and wellbeing; and culture, heritage and sport.

In 1897, gallery Tate opened its doors, displaying a collection of British work to the public. More than a century later the organisation has four major sites and displays a wide range of British and international art from 1500 AD to the most contemporary, holding more than 70,000 artworks. Admission to the Tate Briton, Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool are free, while Tate St Ives charges a small admission fee.

The £75,000 donation from the Mace Foundation aims to provide a means for the Tate’s Access and Community Programmes to enter hard to reach communities, and provide them with access and participation in the arts. With the donation, up to 3,000 difficult to reach community members, including elders’ organisations, mental health service users and local community groups, will be provided with a programme of bespoke workshops, one-off events and community partnerships aimed at lowering the barrier to art. The Tate Access programme will also provide tailored gallery-based visits that provide support for a wide segment of disabled visitors, some of whom require hearing and visual enhancement.

Tate and Mace
Besides charitable work, Mace has had considerable involvement with the Tate Modern and Tate Britain in the past and has been involved in the building of the Tate Modern Extension, the constructed six new galleries, a new public entrance, tunnelling and the landscaping of Tate Britain. “Mace is incredibly proud of our long-standing relationship with Tate and we’re pleased that the support of the Mace Foundation will help a wider audience participate in the wonderful programmes offered by Tate Access,” explains Mark Reynolds, Mace Foundation Chairman. 

For the Mace Foundation, this is the second donation in a short time span. Just recently, outdoor-education organisation Outward Bound received a grant of £5,000 aimed to help 60 disadvantaged young people in Birmingham and Manchester.